9/11 memorials

My parents took the kids to see the 9/11 Memorial for flight 93 in Shanksville, PA, since it was on the way to their house.  My husband and I thought we would also stop there on the way to pick up the kids.  We hope to go again as a family in a few years after they complete the new visitor center and grounds.  What they have planned is really beautiful!  It was truly a heart stopping place remembering what happened on that day.  I was really pleased to see so many visitors and the Park rangers were wonderful answering questions.

My husband and I remember this day so clearly, it has been burned into our memories.

They are still working on building a more permanent visitor site so the entire site is mostly outdoors

The long black walkway to the memorial which looks like a runway to me.

Along the wall are various places for visitors to place mementos or flowers to the victims

This field is where the plane crashed by the large stone.  Hard to see in the photo but there were American flags around the rock

This gate is closed and the only ones who have access to the site are family members of those on flight 93 and the park rangers.

At the end of the of the long black walkway is a Granite wall which simply holds the names of the passengers on the flight

This passenger was pregnant and they included her unborn child on the wall which made me tear up

I believe this is the man who help organize the passengers to overpower the terrorists by saying "Let's roll"

again mementos are being left along the wall.  The park rangers gather all the mementos up and plan on putting them in the newVisitor Center

There is a phone tour that you can listen too to explained what happened and learn the full story of this shocking event.

A photo from someone who lived in Libertyville and saw the crash and what it looked like minutes after the plane hit the ground.

When we met up with my parents we all decided to drive to the Pentagon and see the 9/11 Memorial there.  The plane hit the side of the Pentagon where my father used to work when he was in the Navy (he had retired before the terrorist attack).

Again it was good to see so many people there paying their respects as it is a time in our history we should never forget.

The time the plane hit the Pentagon biulding 

The wall the surrounds the memorial gradually rises from 3 inches representing the youngest victim to around 70 inches to represent the oldest victim.  The pamphlet explained the details and every thing is to remember the victims.  There is also a phone tour that you can listen in one to explain what happened.

Pools of water were beneath each bench that listed the name of each passenger or crew.  At night each bench is lit up.

The passengers and crew were remembered by their birthdays with the youngest being 3 years old and the oldest in their 70's

My family wants to visit the 9/11 memorial in New York City one day so we can pay our respects to those victims as well.  Both sites were very moving and I am glad we went.